Gallery walls are one of my favorite design accents, and I think they’re great in almost any space. But, I’m not gonna lie – they can be really expensive! If you assume the average decorative picture frame costs somewhere between $10 and $50+, you can easily spend several hundred dollars on a single accent wall! I wanted to create a grid style gallery wall which gives the space more of a structured look, so I estimated the cost to be approximately $180 before tax and photo costs. That just wasn’t going to cut it around here – especially with two little ones running around.

I can tell you’re asking yourself how I came up with such a fun black and white gallery wall without breaking the bank. Well … it all started when I was wandering around IKEA a few weeks ago. Shocker. We passed the mirror section – which I usually ignore – and I spotted these $2 mirrors in frames. The shape and size were just right for my wall! There were a few different color options, but black and white is my jam right now, so I went for the crisp white frame.

When I got the frames home, I selected a few of my favorite Instagram photos, and printed them in black and white on regular printer paper. After I cut the photos out, I used mod podge to coat the mirror and secure the pictures in place. Then each photo got a layer of mod podge over top to seal it. That’s it! I think the whole project literally took me 5 minutes to finish.

This gallery wall adds a touch of fun and personality to the hallway, and I’m so thrilled with how it turned out. It doesn’t hurt that I spent less than $20 on the whole thing!

This may Be a silly question but I can’t see the mirror “where it use to be” is that because it was a frame with a smaller mirror inside & u took the mirror out and placed ur picks inside? Sorry to sound stupid & what is mod poge? Thanks :)

I didn’t actually take the mirrors out at all … I just put the photos right on top! And Mod Podge is basically glue. It’s made for crafting to be a glue / sealer / and top coat with various finishes. There are links in the post to see the IKEA mirrors and Mod Podge listings on Amazon if that helps!

This is awesome! Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to doing it myself. Perhaps this is a silly question, but how did you print your Instagram photos from your computer? Was it through the Instagram webpage?

Sam I am so in love with this idea. I found it on Pinterest, ran out the next day to Ikea and put this gallery in my bedroom. I shared my pics at work and now everyone is running out to do the same. I think the black and whites just make the whole gallery so elegant. I am featuring this amazing idea on my blog this week. Thanks for sharing your genius and creativity!

Hello! Thank you for the great idea. I have purchased my mirrors and cut all of my pictures, but have run into a hiccup. I purchased Mod Podge (gloss) and the Mod Podge foam brushes, and was disappointed to see that the Mod Podge leaves a streaky film over the pictures. It is very noticeable. Do you have any tips for application? I am wondering if it is maybe the foam brush I used that is causing the streaking. What did you use to apply the Mod Podge on top of the pictures? Thank you for your help!

Yes picture paper can act differently when you put stuff on it – but that’s good to know!
I did one full layer and then kind of touched up where I felt like it needed more. Just make sure if you do more than one layer that you let it fully dry in between or it’ll stay tacky forever!

I am thinking of making a fabric/textile art project and your project seems great to fit my idea. I have a very silly question to ask you. Is the back of the mirror fram separable like a regular photo frame? or is it securely closed all around?

(I want to lay my textile inside the frame over the mirror and close the back if possible.)

Just so you know — inspiration for this one still going strong. I don’t have an IKEA near me so I practically begged my brother to bring me 20 of these when he comes to visit soon. I’m super excited. Thank you so much for the great idea. Cannot wait to do the gallery wall in our new home next month!!!!!

[…] preferably budget-friendly on the wall right above the sofa, then I remembered that I saw this tutorial on Pinterest, which was budget friendly and super cute! The best part about it, I already had […]

[…] had the energy to actually sit down and write it out! Fortunately, yesterday BuzzFeed shared my Black and White Gallery Wall project which gave me lots of new visitors and – conveniently – the gumption to share […]

[…] after the other by my kids dog husband. I even have some custom artwork and followed a Pinterest tutorial for turning $2 Ikea mirrors into copycat Pottery Barn frames. I replaced 3 windows at $575 a pop in […]